LONDON – London's police commissioner will meet senior members of the Jewish community on Monday after police botched their apology for suggesting that the presence of an “openly Jewish” man along the route of a pro-Palestinian march might provoke protesters.
Amid calls for his resignation, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley can also be expected to fulfill London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary James Cleverly, who share responsibility for law and order in town.
“We remain focused on doing everything possible to ensure that Jewish Londoners feel safe in this city,” the Metropolitan Police Service said in an announcement on Sunday. “We know that recent events and some of our recent actions have contributed to the concerns of many.”
The meeting comes as London police struggle to manage the tensions it has sparked the Israel-Hamas warwith some Jewish residents saying they feel threatened by it repeated pro-Palestinian marches through the streets of the British capital.
The marches were largely peaceful. However, many protesters have accused Israel of genocide and a small number have expressed support for Hamas, the group that led them the attack on Israel on October seventh and which was banned as a terrorist organization by the British government.
The Metropolitan Police have deployed hundreds of officers at each of the dozen major marches to guard the rights of pro-Palestinian protesters and stop clashes with counter-protesters and Jewish residents.
In addition to meeting with Jewish community leaders, senior police officials wrote to the person at the middle of the recent controversy, offering to fulfill with him to apologize and discuss what more may very well be done “to ensure that Jewish Londoners feel safe”.
Gideon Falter, executive director of the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism, was wearing a conventional Jewish skullcap when he was stopped by police on April 13 as he tried to cross a street in central London as protesters passed by.
An official told Falter he was concerned that the person's “overtly Jewish” appearance could provoke a response from protesters, in keeping with a video posted on social media by the campaign group. A second officer then told Falter that if he refused to be escorted from the world he can be arrested because he would “cause a breach of the peace.”
The department later deleted that apology from its social media accounts and issued a second statement.
“To make it clear that protests are being policed, we caused further crimes,” police said on Friday. “That was never our intention. … Being Jewish is not a provocation. Jewish Londoners must feel safe in the city.”
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